Hello friends,

I just wanted to update you on what I have been reading and doing lately.  Today I was reading the book called “Sumi-e:  The Art of Japanese Ink Painting” by Shozo Sato.  I have not gotten very far yet, but I was intrigued by what is said here:  ” Sumi-e is commonly described as art done in monochrome, with the use of sumi ink and handmade paper.  Sumi-e means ‘black ink painting’ (sumi=black ink; e=painting.)  The ideogram:

which is read sumi in Japanese can also be read as boku in Chinese, and as is true of most Asian art and culture, the roots of Japanese painting are found in China.”   I didn’t know this until I chatted with my friend on Facebook who said, “…roots of many Japanese cultural things are found in China and Korea.  Japan is the ‘youngest kid’ of the Far East.  Haha!”  So every day I am learning many things about Chinese and Japanese culture in my endeavor to learn their unique ways of painting and writing!  It is challenging and fun.

Here are a couple of pages I did in practicing strokes from the book “The Heart of the Brush” by Kazuaki Tanahashi.

These are vertical, diagonal, horizontal and dew drop strokes.  It is difficult to do to say the least!  However, I am up for the challenge!

 I actually did these a week or so ago, but just hadn’t had a chance to post them.  I am planning to get back to practicing later today.  I wasn’t feeling very well the last few days, but I feel better today.  So after a workout and a shower, I plan to get back to this!

Have a wonderful day, and give someone you love a big hug!  🙂